MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, MUMBAI POLITICAL SCIENCE SYNOPSIS TITLE: ARAB SPRING REVOLUTION Where does Arab world stand on the demands of democracy? A year ago, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi was getting ready to sell fruits and vegetables in the rural town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Bouazizi was the sole breadwinner for his widowed mother and six siblings, but he didn't have a license to sell the goods. When the police asked Bouazizi to hand over his cart, he refused and a policewoman allegedly slapped him. Angered after being publicly humiliated, Bouazizi marched in front of a government building and set himself on fire. His act of desperation resonated immediately with others in the town. Mass protests began that day in Sidi Bouzid, captured by cellphone cameras and shared on the Internet. Within days, protests started popping up across the country, calling upon President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his regime to step down. About a month later, he fled. The momentum set off uprisings across the Tunisia and other Middle-east countries that became known as the Arab Spring. A year after the young Tunisian became a martyr, who became the symbol of Arab spring revolution. Due to Arab revolution fewer countries achieved their goal while some countries are still struggling from the wrath of their despotic leaders. While in some other countries after the Arab revolution many coups happened which hampered the stability of that particular nation. The Arab revolution was not just a revolution which consisted of arms and ammunitions or soldiers and rebels. It was more a revolt of people against years of oppression, years of tolerance against a government which curtailed the basic fundamental rights of citizens. It was a revolt against a rigid ideology which was forcefully continued by the regimes of respective countries. It was agitation against the government by all classes of society. It started in Tunisia and then the revolution affected every Arab state whether on minor stage or major including countries like Egypt, Yemen , Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria. It is widely believed Arab world is a religiously conservative place and people generally want to see Islam playing an important role in public life. But in this revolution people came forward as one and abandoned their own government. Though the aftermath of revolution or the way the people wanted to see the end of revolution may be disturbing as Libya was freed from its dictator but it later faced challenges from the rebels. Political instability was experienced in many countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt . Syria, a country known for its oil was caught into a terrible civil war which has caused heavy loss of human life. Around 2 lakh people have lost their lives. The country has drawn back into the dark ages of the history. The economy has come to standstill. Also their own government was accused of using chemical weapons against their own people. The aftermath results were quite disturbing. The main question remains, did Arab revolution succeed in its aim? Was democracy restored in Arab nations. OBJECTIVE: As the topic of Arab spring is wide and describing it in a single project is quite hard, So the main objective would be to give an idea about Arab spring in in more political manner and by focusing on the points which is felt to neglected by many like points referring to the mental understanding of people about the events that took place in their respecting countries and to also to point out the aftermath effect of revolution on people, country, etc. Other objectives would be to point out the atrocities committed by the government on people or by the rebels who were supposed to fight for the good. Also how various countries became vulnerable to terrorism due the revolution as it crippled their countries grass root foundation. Disadvantages and advantages will also be the objective. METHODOLOGY: Methodology used in this project will be mostly of secondary methods which will constitute of online research and some research websites. Basic priority will be given to offline study related to the topic which is relevant to the project. Various kinds of books will also be referred as to give the topic more solitary base. SUBMITTED BY: 1. SIKANDER KHAN ROLL NO. 25 2. KARAN SHELKE ROLL NO. 30